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International
Agriculture
Food Safety Capacity Development and
Private Standards in Emerging Markets:
Case Studies from India
Deepa Thiagarajan
Michigan State University
March 1, 2011
Dubai International Food Safety Conference
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International
Agriculture
Background
• Large proportion of
the world’s poor live
in rural areas and rely
on agriculture for
their livelihood
• Agriculture market
development as a key
strategy to improve
economic status of
the rural poor
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Agriculture Development Strategies
• Reform of domestic markets
• Technology transfer and adaptation to local
conditions
• Investment in infrastructure
• Export market development
• Focus on high-value domestic segments
• Organized retail
• Foodservice, catering
• Smallholder farmers are particularly susceptible to
being left behind as markets evolve
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Challenge: Smallholder access to global markets
• The Dilemma:
• Global food industry:
• Safe, quality product
• More efficiently and at lower cost.
• Want to work with smallholder producers.
• Small and medium producers/suppliers:
• Excluded from high value markets.
• Lack the capacity to meet rigorous safety and
quality standards.
• Large volumes are a challenge.
• Development Objectives:
• Value chain development for quality
fruits and vegetables
• Market development
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USAID PFID-F&V – Partnerships for Food
Industry Development-Fruits and Vegetables
• Development of products and services to
pave the way for more advantageous
market linkages for the small/medium
F&V producer.
• Examples
• Intelligence on market trends and directions
• Training activities (workshops and field
training)
• Assessments (horticulture sector, market
assessments, etc)
• Building private sector partnerships between
farmers and markets
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PFID - F&V Model
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Building Long-term Capacity for a Competitive Edge
Labeling
Packaging
Supply reliability
Cold storage
Environmental
Certification
Certified quality
Certified safety
(SPS)
Product volume
Processing
Etc…
Market Supply
Market
Intelligence
(trends, windows,
quality, volume,
prices…)
Environment
BuyerProducer
Relationships/
alliances
Transport
Meeting Grades and Standards
Traceability
Flow through the Value Chain
(Policy, laws & regulations, business services)
Enabling Environment
Opportunities for
Market Access
Enabling Environment
Slide Source:
Dan Clay, MSU, 2010
Supermarkets, food service,
ethnic markets, etc
(Policy, laws & regulations, business services)
Gender & Disadvantaged
Populations
Market Demand
Producers, associations,
agribusiness, MSMEs, and other
suppliers
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Standards – Safety and Quality
• Compliance with standards, both public and private,
is essential to enable and sustain access to higher
value markets.
• Exports and high-value domestic markets
• Domestic food control systems often weak / absent
• Private standards and third-party certification, in
many cases, are the only viable options to
demonstrate compliance.
• Cost, lack of local expertise, etc. all can be significant
hurdles to smallholder farmers and small-scale
packers and processors.
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Background – India
• A “transforming” country
• Large proportion (>70%) of population still lives in rural areas
and is dependent upon agriculture for their livelihoods
• Agriculture’s share of national GDP is decreasing, but still
significant (>20%)
• Agriculture sector growth (<2% annually) not keeping pace
with the rest of the economy (>7% annually)
• Average farm size is very small (~ 1 hectare)
• Infrastructure is limited, particularly for post-harvest handling
and value addition (including processing)
• Higher-value market opportunities evolving (supermarkets,
exports)
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• Funding provided by USAID – India Mission, New Delhi
• Project duration: 2004-2007
• Focus on fresh and processed Alphonso and Kesar mangoes
in Maharashtra state.
• Increase net returns to farmers, by:
• Building capability among mango growers and processors
to meet market demands
• Food safety, quality, environmental, social responsibility standards
• Strengthening linkages of mango growers and processors
with higher value markets (domestic and export)
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• Traditional Market = High Transaction Costs (only
~35% of value returned to farmer)
• Majority of mango in India sold at flowering stage
Mango
Grower
Local
middleman
Commission
Agent /
Trader
Consumer
Retailer
Wholesaler
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• Tremendous investment by Indian conglomerates
• Reliance, Future Group / Food Bazaar, Spencers, Bharti,
Birla, ITC, Spinach, etc.
• Growing presence by multinationals
• Metro, Wal-Mart, Carrefour, ShopRite
• Existing cap on foreign direct investment by multibrand retailers is limiting growth rate by
multinationals, but Indian companies have been
expanding aggressively
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India – Emerging Markets Demand Produce
Meeting High Standards for Safety and Quality
Traditional Markets
• APMCs, Mandis
• “Wet Markets”
• Exports to “less
discriminating” markets
• “Business as Usual” is
acceptable for now, but this
is a low-value market
segment that will decline
over the next decade
Emerging Markets
• Organized Retail
• Hotels, Foodservice
• Exports to Countries with
High-Value Markets
• Tremendous pressure to
improve quality and safety
standards in order to
participate in this more
lucrative and growing
market segment
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• Improved supply chain under project
• Direct linkages with retail markets and exporters
Mango
Grower
Retail
Markets,
Exporters
Consumer
 Key Advantages
 Lower Transactions Costs
 Improved Quality Control
 Improved Food Safety and Traceability
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Building Linkages Between Farmers and Retailers
Food Bazaar
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US Market Opens
to Indian Mangoes
April 2007
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• Estimated value of reduced intermediaries and GAP
certification in value chain (2006):
• Domestic Fresh Market:
Growers received 20 to 30% higher returns than
traditional channel
• Fresh Export Market:
Growers received 50% higher returns for GAPcertified mangoes when compared to traditional
domestic market
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• Based on lessons learned in previous horticulture
development projects, expansion to other fruit and
vegetable commodities in additional India states
• IHDA entails a holistic approach to horticultural value chain
development.
• Formalized agreements among many partners in public and
private sector.
• Sustainability and scalability of efforts – establishment of
Knowledge Centers and internet-based educational
resources.
• Inclusive of women and other traditionally disadvantaged
groups.
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Product Flow
Production
Clusters
Alphonso
Kesar
Aggregation
and Grading
Government Markets
Mandis
Terminal Markets
Farmer-Led
Organizations;
Cooperatives
Cluster & Coop Formation;
Provide Market Orientation;
Training on Inputs, GAPs,
Grades and Standards,
Production;
Access to Inputs and
Finance
FRESH
Packing Facilities
VHT, Irradiation
Facilities
Private Markets and
Aggregation Units;
SNX Spot Markets
Totapuri
Other Varieties
Specialized
Packing and
Processing
PROCESSED
Large Processors
SMEs
Mega Food Parks
Markets
Fresh
Domestic
Fresh
Export
Processed
Domestic
Processed
Export
Market Information Flow
Sector-Specific Interventions
Link Clusters to Local
Markets;
Training on Post-Harvest
Technology, Grades and
Standards, Food Safety;
Facilitate Price Discovery
Build Capacity of SMEs;
Training on GAPs, Food
Safety, Grades and
Standards, Packaging, etc.;
Backward Linkages to
Growers
Forward Linkages to Markets
Assess Market Demands and
Organize Upstream Sectors
to Meet This Demand;
Link Producers and
Processors to Markets Based
on Grades and Standards,
Capacity
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IHDA Project – Interim Observations
• Increased returns in domestic market are largely based on
improved marketing efficiency; limited return for
improved quality and safety of product currently (this will
evolve over time)
• Export market development still hindered by limited
infrastructure. However, even the infrastructure that is
available is not always utilized effectively. Much more
attention on post-harvest handling of F&V is required.
• Producers / exporters must stay abreast of changes in
standards – 3000 sea containers of Indian Thompson
seedless grapes suffered >$50 million loss in value due to
European MRL issue.
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Agriculture
Lessons Learned
• These development efforts only take hold when driven by
specific market opportunities and conducted in partnership
with the private sector.
• Capacity development efforts must be adapted to the local
context and tailored for the needs of specific value chains.
• Development of local technical capacity is essential to
sustain these efforts beyond the period of donor support.
• Producers must be highly responsive to market demands,
including appropriate certifications, and react effectively to
challenges (e.g. food safety incidents) in order to capture
and maintain market share.
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Institute of
International
Agriculture
For Additional Information:
Deepa Thiagarajan
Director, Global Food Standards and Value Chain
Development Programs
Institute of International Agriculture
Michigan State University
319 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824 USA
Phone: +1-517-432-8211
Email: thiagara@msu.edu
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